Which of the following statement is correct?

a- The term 'holocaust' in a sense captures the gravity of what happened in the subcontinent in 1947, something that the mild term 'partition' hides.

b- The 'ethnic cleansing' that characterised the partition of India was carried out by state agencies.

Only statement a is correct.

The term “holocaust” in a sense captures the gravity of what happened in the subcontinent in 1947, something that the mild term “partition” hides. It also helps to focus on why Partition, like the Holocaust in Germany, is remembered and referred to in our contemporary concerns so much. Yet, the differences between the two events should not be overlooked. In 1947-48, the subcontinent did not witness any state-driven extermination as was the case with Nazi Germany where various modern techniques of control and organisation had been used. The “ethnic cleansing” that characterised the partition of India was carried out by self-styled representatives of religious communities rather than by state agencies.